Well-Being May Be the Missing Component of Professionalism in Pharmacy Education

Enhancing student pharmacist professionalism through co-curricular efforts has gained much attention in pharmacy education since release of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education's Standards 2016. Interestingly, traditional and current definitions and attributes of professionalism do not include components of well-being; instead, the ideas of altruism and self-sacrifice predominate. However, providing students with the tools, resources, and time needed to invest in themselves to maintain their well-being is imperative as this in turn allows them to fulfill the pharmacy profession's standards of professional conduct and engagement. Although classic interpretations may seem to conflict, practicing self-care to promote personal well-being is thankfully not in opposition to being an altruistic, self-sacrificing professional. This commentary explores the interplay between the two constructs and postulates that some issues related to student pharmacists' unprofessional behavior can be linked to a lack of well-being. Therefore, pharmacy educators should consider incorporating well-being initiatives into efforts focused on refining student pharmacist professionalism.